Influenced by reggae music, co-writer Eric Bazilian said the band was working on a different song when the idea "just came to us, like a vision."

"[2][3] The Hooters first released a version of "All You Zombies" recorded live at the Emerald City nightclub in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, on 11 April 1981.

Hyman and Bazilian had worked with Cyndi Lauper on her album She's So Unusual, which led to Columbia Records offering the band a contract.

It became a minor hit in the US, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and a top 10 success in Australia, where it peaked at No.

"[2] Hyman later told Songfacts that the biblical images, including Moses and Noah, were not part of any agenda, though some radio stations refused to play it.